Apparatus for liquid treatment of vehicle bodies



A. P. FOWLER ,657, 6

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT OF VEHICLE BODIES Nov. 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16, 1949 Inventor 23 25 j-cazaigwP/Zwk/ Attorney Nov. 3, 1953 A. P. FCWLER ,657,66

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT OF VEHICLE BODIES Filed March 16, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Attorney Patented Nov. 3, 1953 ABBARATUS FOR :DIQUID TREATMENT OF VEHICLE BODIES- Alexandin P. Fowler; London, England} assignori to Carrieif Engineering Company Limited; Bon don; Englandf a British company ApplicationMarch-lfi, 1949, Serial No. 81,768

Claims priority; applicationGi'cat Britaiit- Marfih 17, 1948" declaims. 1:

This invention relates tdappa'ratusi fon c1ean== ing, rust-proofing; prime? coating? and spray painting sheet metal articles such as? vehicle bodies on'anquantity production basis:

In U. S. Patent application Serial No. 8,835; mew February 17;. 1948'; there is disclosed a: method. off treating vehicle? bodies; in: which a VEI'iiOIGibDdyiSE-ESG mounted as; to herrotated'abouta a2 horizontah axisi disposed: longitudinally of and: intersecting. the vehicle-body, as the'body is' a-de van'ced sideways through an'installationtin which: at each: treatment. stage? of, cleaning, ruste proofing: ali'di primertcoating thevtreating liquid is: applied? to the. body: The apparatusfor ac. complishing; the: foregoing? method! is.- described: and claimed: in application: Serial? No; 1005724 filedf-June 22; 1949, now Patent No. 2;5'9820l,.andr which was divided" from: the abotver-identifieds application; SerialzNozx 85835}.

'I'hemain object cfthe presentinvention is' tof' make more economical thefomgoifig andiotlrers methods of and' apparatiis fontreatin'g vehicle bodies ibyreducing the1quantityiofitreatingcliquidx usedin eacli bath or dip; and: to eliminate stopcpage'sfoi' cieaning 'cradies; and further-to mini-" mii'ethe-filtering operationiefrectediomtiietreat ing" liquids; particularly painti- Briefly, the apparatus fcrmountin i' ail vehicle bdd'y forconveyance through: the treating; stages: of cleaning, protecting; primer coatingand spray paintiiig tlie body; accordin tortlie present invention; consists'in threading" a spindle-through the body lengthwise thereofj rigidly connectingthe-'body to the spindlei and rotatably coi'ine'ct ing the Spindle tO'. the co'm'eying means for pastsage' to-or through the various liquid applying or. treating stations. The vehicle body isrotated on a normally; substantially horizontal axis and simultaneously advanced over the sue-- cessive treatingbaths or thr'ou'gh the: spray" booths, dipping tanks or other"treating station'si In; the dipping apparatus,- the spindle is supported and arranged so that the part of the body below thespi'ndl'e can' depend into and belowtheliquid-level of the baths:

Theapparatus ofthe present invention may be used in the individual steps of cleaning: -rus't-- proofing andpr-i'me coastingabody whether the steps are successively performedin one iristalla tion or as discontinuous processes. Moreoveri insteadt' ofproviding; baths of the treating liquidj arain of; the liquich may be employed, thee body being: advanced while rotating! through the raiin and-,inrthe case of rust proofing; thefmethcdiof operation preferably involvesethes employment; of both thetbathand'rtherain sothafithErwholeshrface" of? the body is progressively coated? by par tial immersion'and thepart offthe bodyabove'ithc surface of thebath T is continuously wetted with i a rain'of the liquid, wherebydryingofthe coat ing liquid is prevented until theend of the treat men't;

When the" vehicle body' being-rotated and: ad vanced' is conveyed overtrea'ting baths; the -bfody moves in a" serpentine i or=cycloidal path; thereby ensuring' a" gradual and smooth entry and exit: of; the article-into and out of each ti'eatin'g liqi1id-i As compared? with the**crad le' -apparatiis dis closed in: the? aforesaid" Patent No: 2 598,201? the omission ofthecradle therein described" is effectedby the present invention;v and: in: consequence both the depth and width of" each: bath canbe very? considerably/ reduced; while only the body dips? into the? bath. and i the introduction of ox'i dized paint is minimized by the absencemfithe cradle; and filtering is' very -considerablif eduoed.

In orden'that theinvention may be more cle'ar' 1y:- understood; some preferred: embodiments thereof will now be described with referenceto the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which? Figure If is: a sectional elevation? showiii'g-l" the" spindle, on which the vehicle bOdyLiS ni tinted; supported omwheels r'nnnin 'g on tracks at the sides 01 the tank illustrated in" Patent N02 25598201 Figures 'zand 3 show side and end" elevation respectively? a," niod'ified s'p'i-hdl'e and mobile carriagei'for' supporting the spindle with a threaded bod for transpcrt' t'dandyor througha' spray booth, dipping tanlor'dr ying means;

Fi ures F and 5' each Show in elevation o'th'er' modificati'onsof the spindle and" means for moiintin'gth'e body-on thesp'indl'e; and

Figures fi and 7 show in side and end 'elevation respectively amodification for suspending" the: spindle and threaded body for transport to, and/or" through a spray booth, dipping: tank 1' or drying means;

In the drawings like" references designate; the same or similar parts.

In the construction showzr Figure 1-; the

spindle 1 on which the vehicle body [4 is threaded intersects the dash bulkhead 21 thereof as well as a rear bulkhead, if any. The spindle is freely supported on two wheels 9, which run on tracks 12. The spindle is displaced laterally by two conveyor chains 5 running parallel to the tracks on runways H and fitted with driving dogs 8, which straddle the ends of the spindle as clearly described in the aforesaid Patent No. 2,598,201. One end of the spindle carries a sprocket N, which engages in a rack l3, so that rotation of the sprocket, and accordingly of the spindle, is enforced as the spindle is displaced laterally. Thus a body mounted on the spindle is advanced sideways and simultaneously rotated without employing the cradle shown in the aforesaid patent but, as disclosed in said patent, the body is dipped into a tank T and/ or passed under a spray head H.

After the body has received the prime coat and the coat is set, the body on its spindle may be removed from the tracks and rested on a stillage (not shown), whereupon the spindle may be detached, and another spindle I carrying a locking device, hereafter described, may be substituted, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. According to this modification, the spindle may be mounted on a trestle or carriage IS.

The spindle I carries means for locking the spindle against relative rotation with the trestle,

which means includes a fixed notched plate 56. On the trestle shown in Figures 2 and 3 is an arm I1 pivotally supporting a ratchet lever l'l' carrying a roller E8, which seats in one or other of the notches in the plate Hi, the roller I being urged by a spring l9 into engagement with the plate I6. Thereby the spindle is secured to the trestle against inadvertent rotation in a direction counter to the arrow Ma (Figures 3 and '7), which arrow indicates the desired direction of the body on the spindle. Thus the bod can be safely and rapidly turned by hand as required in a spray booth or in front of a spray gun G or the like, as indicated in Figure 2, and to prevent sudden angular movements due to the asymmetrical disposal of the vehicle body with respect to the spindle 1 a balance weight 20is fitted to the spindle.

The trestle is provided with wheels 2| mounted on cross bearers 22, which are engaged by dogs 23 fixed to a towing chain 24 running in a channel guide 25.

As shown in Figure 4, the longitudinal axis of the body may be slightly inclined to the axis of the spindle I so as to improve drainage of liquid :1

from the body.

As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the spindle 1 may be in two parts each provided with coupling flanges 26, which are bolted together through the dash bulkhead 21, and brackets 28 emanatin from the spindle 1 are bolted to the bumper strong points 29 so that rotation of the body relatively to the spindle 1 is rigidl prevented. The bulkhead of the body is accordingly apertured for the passage of the spindle and the aperture is afterwards closed in any suitable manner. In the alternative arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 6, the spindle may comprise a single shaftlike member I or, as shown in Figure 5, the spindle 1a may be a tube in two parts, and the inner ends fit over spigots 30 mounted on a central bracket 3|, the middle part of each half being supported by brackets 32 fixed to the body frame structure 33.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the present invention comprises apparatus for mounting a vehicle body for rubbing down or the like operation, comprising a spindle adapted to support the body when threaded lengthwise thereof, means for rotatably supporting the spindle, rigid means on the spindle for connecting the vehicle body thereto, and means for obstructing unintentional rotation of said spindle in one direction.

A vehicle body mounted on a spindle in accordance with the present invention may be also conveyed through a spray booth or over a dipping tank by being suspended from an overhead rail. To this end, as shown in Figures 6 and '7, the spindle 1' is suspended at each end by a pair of chains 34 depending from a stirrup 35 carrying wheels 36 running on the lower flanges of an overhead rail 31, the stirrups 35 at each end being connected by a towing chain 38, which is supported as required by other stirrups 35a carrying wheels 36a. The lower ends of the pairs of chains 34 are respectively hooked to cross arms 34a each carrying a bearing in which the respective end of the spindle l is rotatably mounted. In this construction the ratchet arm 1'? of the locking device is mounted on a support i la emanating from the respective cross arm 34a.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for processing a vehicle body, comprising, in combination, a liquid applying station, spindle means for supporting a vehicle body and of an overall length for insertion longitudinally through such body as a spit therefore, means for rigidly connecting the body to said spindle means with said spindle means extending longitudinally through the body with the ends of said spindle means respectively extending beyond the ends of the body and conveyor mechanism including means for rotatably supporting the ends of said spindle means with the axis of said spindle means normally substantially horizontal, and means for moving said supporting means past said liquid applying station while supporting said spindle means, whereby a treating liquid is applied to the body as it revolves and moves past said station.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said spindle means comprises two spindle sections dividing the spindle means intermediate its overall length to enable respective insertion of each section into the opposite ends of the body, and means for releasably connecting the adjacent ends of said spindle sections to the body, each of said spindle sections being independently sup-- ported by said supporting means.

3. Apparatus for processing a vehicle body by moving the body past a liquid applying station, comprising, in combination, spindle means of an overall length to extend substantially longitudinally through a vehicle body and supporting means for rotatably supporting the vehicle body with said spindle means extending longitudinally through the vehicle body as a spit therefor, and conveyor means for moving said spindle with its axis normally substantially horizontal past the liquid applying station.

4. Apparatus for processing a vehicle body, comprising a liquid applying station having means for applying a treating liquid to the body, spindle means or supporting a vehicle body and being of an overall length for passing longitudinally through a vehicle body as a spit therefor, means for rigidly connecting the body to said spindle means with said spindle means extending longitudinally through the body with the ends of said spindle means respectively extending beyond 5 the respective ends of the body, means for ro- References Cited in the file of this patent tatably supporting the ends of said. spindle means UNITED STATES PATENTS with the axis of said spindle normally substantially horizontal, conveyor means for moving said Number Name Date supporting means past said liquid applying sta- 5 1,329,467 Mlskena 1920 tion while supporting said spindle means, and 1376950 FOX Sept- 2 drive mechanism for rotating said spindle means 13051694 Foley 25, 1963 as it is moved by said conveyor mechanism, 2'336401 James 27, 1943 whereby a treating liquid is applied to the body as 3333222 322 5 :8 3:? it is revolved and moved past the liquid applying 10 2,597,914 Whitworth et H May 27, 1952 station.

ALEXANDER P. FOWLER. 

